Are you conscious of the shift, or is your world about to be turned upside down? Is your brain a product of your consciousness, or is your consciousness a product of your brain? On the 6th of August 1945, the world changed forever. An American B-29 Superfortress aircraft called Enola Gay dropped a bomb, called Little Boy, onto the Japanese city of Hiroshima. There was nothing little about this bomb. It was two thousand times more powerful than the largest bomb ever used previously. By splitting the atom humanity unleashed nuclear devastation on Hiroshima, and days later on Nagasaki. This event has been described as one of humankind’s biggest acts of destruction and one of our greatest paradigm shifts. Prior to this event, most of humanity believed it was impossible to split the atom. We were stunned to discover that we had been wrong. It was indeed possible to split the atom. We were even more stunned to discover how much energy was available once an atom was split. Today we find ourselves at a similar, although hopefully more constructive position, relating to the field of consciousness. Our paradigm is about to be shifted and if you aren’t ready for it may feel as though a new bomb has dropped. At the moment, most of us are of the opinion that our consciousness is a product of our brains. While it does seem as though our consciousness is housed inside our heads, this thinking leads to many problems. By believing we are physical, we are limited by what can be accomplished with physical bodies and physical brains on a physical planet. Fortunately, it seems as if this thinking is being challenged. There’s a new breed of scientists that disagree with the old paradigm. This new generation of scientists know that our consciousness is simply made up of information and as such our brains, and indeed our reality, is the product of our consciousness. To these scientists, consciousness is both the computer and the software for this information. These scientists have the benefit of hindsight when it comes to shifting paradigms. Based on the past, paradigm shifts can be very threatening to some people and so the messengers announcing new information are sometimes demonised. One can understand the reluctance this new breed of scientists have towards challenging the current status quo too quickly. On the other hand, change can be very profitable to those that are capable of exploiting it. In 2012 Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their work in quantum computing. This was a very interesting development for me because quantum computing depends on the idea that the world itself is a kind of computer. Winning a Nobel Prize is a big deal and could pocket you more than £790 000.00. That’s quite a financial incentive, not to mention the fame and prestige that goes along with being awarded a Nobel Prize. Many scientists dream of becoming a Nobel Laureate as it’s a career builder. I’m sure there are a great many brilliant scientists working hard at demonstrating that consciousness is information. As such, it can only be a matter of time for this new generation of scientists to enlighten us with their research on consciousness. In fact, it’s already happening. Actually, it would seem that this has been hinted at for quite some time. In 1931 Max Planck said “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness”. In 1944 he said “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such”. If there is no such thing as matter, is it all just information? In 1950, Albert Einstein wrote: “A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security”. He also famously said that reality was an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. If reality is an illusion, could it all just be information? The latest generation of scientists are becoming more vocal. Tom Campbell of “My Big TOE” fame is a prime example, although his motive clearly isn’t profit. The information atom bomb hasn’t hit the ground yet, but it’s hurtling towards us at the speed of thought. It’s just a matter of time before the power of this concept hits home and changes everything as we know it. The chain reaction on the path to critical mass for this concept is going to be interesting. As a clinical hypnotherapist I know that the impact of this bomb shell will be far greater and ultimately far more constructive than splitting the atom. I get to see what happens to the physical when you change information in the consciousness on a daily basis. I’m looking forward to when our methods are better understood and more acceptable to a world sick from too much materialism. The information that consciousness is information changes everything radically. Once we know that we are more than physical, we can transcend the limitations we've imagined. It’s difficult to conceive of anything we can’t accomplish once we realize we’re information that perceives ourselves as physical. Some people may feel understandably uncomfortable with this whole idea. This won’t prevent this shock wave from travelling around the world very quickly because, fittingly, we now live in the information age. TV, radio and the internet will all serve to get this information out. At some point in the foreseeable future we’ll all know that consciousness is information, just as we now know it’s possible to split an atom. I predict that it’s going to be stunning for humanity to discover just how much creative energy this new discovery holds.

UPDATE (28 January 2014):

It would seem that some of the scientists in the field of consciousness are growing bolder and moving towards an open and informed study of all aspects of consciousness. This is quite a long list of distinguished scientists and boasts some heavy weights. I'm looking forward to hearing more on this subject! Read more here: http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00017/full

Disclaimer: The success of hypnotherapy depends greatly on the client's ability to follow instructions and a personal desire for change. As such, hypnotherapy results vary and Oxford Hypnotherapy Clinic cannot offer any guarantee of success. If you do not want to change, for yourself, you are advised to seek help through other avenues.